Morning all,
Well, we’re off to Belarus for our epic battle with Bate Borisov tomorrow night…. yes and before any of you jump down my throat i am joking with the ‘epic’ word..!
I think all this Europa league encounter does is allow Arsene to pick fringe players that need matches and also to blood younger players into the starting 11 and give them experience of playing “big boy” football. We touched on it the other day about younger players getting a chance and this is one of those times when hopefully a couple get a run out in their favoured positions so they get a chance to shine. We have fringe players that need matches as well and a couple of players who will be keen to try and make Arsene sit up an notice that they are pushing for a start when it really matters.
We are all looking at Jack to see if he can firstly stay injury free and secondly impose himself on a game, we know he has the talent but it’s about being consistent week in and week out. I would also add that it depends who is partnered with him in midfield. It seems certain players who been sitting on the bench will get automatic starts but then players who will be looking to make an impression will be played out of position. I think we need to make sure the back 3/5 are solid and we build from there. If the defense is experienced and settled then the younger players can take heart from that and hopefully not be under to much pressure in having to be to defensive. I am keen to see more of Joe Willock, I know many are raving about Reiss Nelson but I like the characteristics of Willock, he looks as if he has all the attributes to make it in the first team and central midfield is where would could definitely do with finding that ‘gem’ of a player. I would Imagine Maitland Niles will be played as one of the wing backs which is where he does ok but he again is more suited to central midfield, him and Jack could work well together. I would imagine we’ll see exactly how seriously Arsene is going to take this competition when we see the squad that flies out for the game. I’d like to see a mix of experience and younger players just not 5/6 youngsters thrown in at the deep end, 2/3 is fine and as said with an experienced defense we can have a solid base. Then again many will say our defense is hardly solid at the best of times and point taken but I think we need to be looking at the BFG and Holding as two that should start possibly with Chambers if fit and if he isn’t then possibly Elneny as CB so that Maitland Niles can play central midfield with Jack. I’d also make Debuchy play just so the wage thief actually gets to earn a living for a change..! Am sure Giroud will start along with Walcott and what about this one, will Arsene shock us by playing Ozil maybe centrally with Jack…? just a thought……………..
Enjoy ya day.
Morning Wath,
You’re going well 🙂
I think Ozil will play, and Jack would offer him some protection so it could work well.
Is Jack disciplined enough to offer him protection though Scott that’s the question…!
Afternoon all and thanks Wath.
Think you`ll find Jack has played a few games for England as a deep laying midfielder and Wenger also said it was a position he could hold.
Although not probably the best action I would still like to see as many youngsters as possible ala League Cup of years past, but take the point that there are many fringe players like Theo who need some game time !
For me though a stress free game I can just enjoy…………………..it will however become a stress game if we we to final ! ……………then fcuk the fringe and young ones as we need all guns blazing ! hahaha
Alex Iwobi joins an injury list that also contains Jeff Reine-Adelaide, Mathieu Debuchy, Calum Chambers, Francis Coquelin, Danny Welbeck and Santi Cazorla.
Damn that ruins my idea of actually asking Debuchy to earn a crust…!
I hope Jack does well for us and goes on to earn a new contract.
Wath, it’s worth a try, as Jack has to find a slot somewhere.
I will think Wenger hasn’t worked out how best to utilise him.
LC, Jack has played that role but for me not sure he has/had the nous to play there and not fly into tackles or commit himself when he should be thinking about the shape of the team and making sure he’s goal side etc etc
Wath, are you suggesting Jack is a tad hotheaded?
🙂
He has attitude and will to win Scott but sometimes you need to know when to control so a not to get yourself into bother shall we say
You’re right, of course.
If he can control his temper, and stay fit, he can fulfil his promise.
One big if, and one massive if.
The fingers are crossed.
Is Debuc hy’s injury actual or just another way of saying I will take the money until my contract is up ?
The excuses are starting !……………………………….simple, use the EL and League Cup for kids and concentrate on league if you have stomach for it !…………………………..this season with 5 rivals in CL should have been our best chance……….if he had balls in the TW…………….alas no replicating Chavs last season, not with a naive manager !……………….Alexis and co shouldn`t even be on the trip to Belarus, they should be training lightly for Sunday`s important game of playing catch up !………………..
http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/859419/Arsenal-Fixtures-Europa-League-Arsene-Wenger-News
I agree with Adam, I’d like to see Jack stay and stay fit, especially as Ozil and Alexis will both leave next summer.
If I had to give us a percentage chance ot A: Making the top four, OR B: Winning the Europa Cup, if we put out decent elevens, I would go. 20% top four(Top three, two Mancs and Chelsea for sure) and Europa 35%. Therefore I would put out a strong team in the Europa, though at Bate who are a very modest team, we could still include several youngsters, like Maitland -Niles, Nelson and Willock, the first two of whom I am convinced will reach our best eleven ere long. I also rate Willock, though just a little less than them.
In an ideal world Kev we all want an Arsenal first team filled with Arsenal supporting players who been brought up through the ranks… Reality is it hardly ever happens and head over heart must rule when they just don’t quite make the grade or don’t cut the mustard..!
ESSEX are the county cricket INVINCIBLES!
Now where have I heard that expression before?
Presently we have a team of, UNCONVINCBLES!
Hey ho.
Yeah, all these top clubs with Youth Academies rarely actually produce first team players. They want instant success and won’t nurture and bring on young players. They just bung them out on loan and let another club coach them. There were five Man city players in the Girona side last week in Spain.
I don’t know why they bother to pretend their wonderful youth systems will work, Napoleon never brought through any youth to his first teams anywhere. He only likes the finished products, honed to perfection by other clubs.
It is sad, when a youngster like Kieran Gibbs ends up being sold on because he didn’t quite make the grade, but at least the club gave him lots of opportunities. Just as they have with a few, brought up from youth team football. How many of our money clubs can say that?
I hope the youth team coaches can influence the team choices and who is best in which position with the management, because I doubt Le Prof has much ‘hands on’ working with them. He must take their advice re the younger players.
It’s a fine balance for a manager, stuck between a rock and a hard place, when choosing the right players for cup games. Fringe first teamers, and youth, but with a bit of oomph too.
Hopefully we will see a good game tonight. Come on you gunners!!!!
Wavy Yorkys out for 74.
Boycott, Hutton, Sutcliff Verity Illingworth, Truman Joe Roop and all the other yorkies on the way home you were thrashed for the 2nd time this season.
Love it.
You`ll be waiting a while if you think it`s tonight, M`kat….. 🙂
I thought for a moment that I was living in a parallel universe with these comments about ‘tonight’s game ‘ ! Anyway I agree with the school of thought that says that hapless clueless Wenger ,who has never one a pot in Europe, despite our genius having had some considerable more time than any other AFC manager to do so ,should go all out to end that embarrassing for himself stat and take the Ropey Cup seriously. After all he celebrates winning Community Shields these days like it’s 1999 so he has no right to believe that the Europa Cup is beneath him. In fact as I said the other day this cup comp is our team’s real level .So please stop all the excuses about blooding youngsters in it Wenger is too old now to be making long term plans and none of his past ones ,especially the inane project youth , ever worked anyway. So time for Wenger to shut up and put up .Personally however it’s my view that Wenger got his latest yawn inducing 2 year 8m+ a season deal by convincing money mad Stan that he would win a top 4 place this season and the big bucks that go with it and winning trophies is still to Stan not important.The way things are shaping up though Wenger may need to do a Jose and win the Europa Cup to get into the Champs League. With clubs such as AC Milan lurking this will not for old clueless be easy to do so it’s more than likely that Wenger will do his usual vanishing act to which we have become accustomed to in Europe once the KO stages start . Wenger though can’t talk up his chances of winning the Europa Cup too much otherwise some might start to take him seriously ! He is on safer ground claiming that a top 4 spot in the Prem is not important and if you believe that then you really will believe anything.
Lol, LCM. Senile decay. Thursday night of course?☺️
I know it`s early, but as it stands, the likes of Juve, Dortmund, A Madrid, Napoli, Celtic could drop into EL………….so I ask, will it be easier to get into CL through 4th place rather than win EL ?………………being consistant over 38 games is easier than winning a European Competition as has been proved historically !………………….so that`s why Wenger has to treat Ropey Cup with contempt and concentrate on league…………..play the numbers game, think like bookies and play the Young uns !
Yes, M`kat, by your reckoning we`ve just started the 2nd half !……….how we doing ?………………….the senile decay is strong with Darth Wenger and is contagious, it`s seeping through to the fans ! hahaha
Rick, seems as if Arsene is going with the Yoot in a big way, not least Nketiah, Nelson, Willock and DaSilva in the squad, but Charlie Gilmore, Marcus McGuane and Vlad Dragomir, who has a journalists dream first name, all added to Maitland-Niles (steady Adam, don’t get overexcited).
There ya go Scott, you predicted a lot of kids in the squad, how could I have ever doubted you!
(God help us)…
Cocker, I wouldn’t worry too much yet about which clubs are going to drop into the UEFA Cup, there’s a long way to go, but there’s some tasty looking teams who could join the party, in fact there’s some tasty teams already in the competition but I doubt if too many of them will fancy playing Arsenal either…
Le Coq the bookies make us a 13/8 shot to ‘win’ a top 4 place in the Prem .5 other teams are shorter priced than us to finish in the top 4 .It’s harder now for Wenger to win his top 4 trophy than it used to be when only 3 sides in reality were certain to get a top 4 place and he was always odds on to be one of them. Of course he has more chance of winning his so called top 4 trophy than he does the Ropey Cup however he is no certainty to do that but money talks with Wenger who is more an accountant than a football manager so he will make the top 4 trophy his priority until he can’t win it. Then the FA Cup will become more important !
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